Pharmacy vs cyber security

Hi I’m about to go into year 12 and I’m thinking of doing biology, chemistry and psychology for a levels and then pursuing pharmacy as a career, however I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?

If I were to go into cyber security would I have to change subjects or could I keep the ones I have while getting a certificate in cybersecurity/coding or something like how do I get in or should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

22

Original post by Aguf

Hi I’m about to go into year 12 and I’m thinking of doing biology, chemistry and psychology for a levels and then pursuing pharmacy as a career, however I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?

If I were to go into cyber security would I have to change subjects or could I keep the ones I have while getting a certificate in cybersecurity/coding or something like how do I get in or should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.

Have you researched the requirements for the role? Some of the things I have found:
https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/cyber-intelligence-officer
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/cyber-security-analyst
https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors/data-network/job-profile/cyber-intelligence-officer

Your options:

•

Go straight into the role as a graduate (going to be fun explaining how you did an MPharm to go into cybersecurity though)

•

Go straight into the role as a college leaver/apprentice (not ideal if you want to also go into pharmacy or keep that door open)

•

Do a master's in computer science or cybersecurity (which likely needs to be funded out of pocket because MPharm is a master's level qualification) - the computer science degree might require you to be proficient in maths

•

Do an entry level cybersecurity certificate which would get you into most jobs - there are a number of them for roles in the UK

I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?
I don't know how much coding and maths there is for cybersecurity, so that's something you would need to research.
If you would do a professional certificate in it e.g. CompTIA Security+, you would have it as a backup option and stop yourself from wondering whether it's something you should have pursued (not that you can only go into pharmacy with a degree in pharmacy, but hey). Regret is something you should not have.

should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.
It's usually recommended that you do one undergrad where possible (because financing the second one is a complete pain). Having said that, there aren't that many careers out there that would require you to do a specific bachelor's (or even have a degree at all) to get into the field. The challenge has always remained in getting the job, especially if the job is at a top firm in the industry.
Whether something makes enough money for you and is rewarding depends on the individual e.g. what's enough money? £100k per year? £1m per year? £13k? £5k? What's rewarding for you? Saving people's lives? Progression? Time for yourself? Opportunity for travel? Meeting celebrities as part of the job? Boring desk jobs? You would need to be a lot more specific.
I can't tell you what you should go into, but the above is something to think about.

OP

Thanks

Original post by Aguf

Hi I’m about to go into year 12 and I’m thinking of doing biology, chemistry and psychology for a levels and then pursuing pharmacy as a career, however I’ve always low-key wanted to go into cyber security the problem is I’m terrible at maths and computer science specifically coding so I don’t see the point of pursuing it as a career but should I try anyway?

If I were to go into cyber security would I have to change subjects or could I keep the ones I have while getting a certificate in cybersecurity/coding or something like how do I get in or should I just stick with pharmacy? I don’t mind it but I’ve been hearing that it’s a dying career and I want something that will make me money and is a rewarding career.

no you can apply to Warwick for cyber security I recommend you that over doing CS as has too much maths and coding and cyber DOSENT compare to data science and cs and machine learning and artificial intelligence

Pharmacy vs cyber security

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